Of the three title contenders for the Astor Cup, symbolic of the Verizon IndyCar Series driver’s championship, only one will enter Saturday’s night MAVTV 500 at Auto Club Speedway feeling no pressure.

Simon Pagenaud, driving for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, is in third place in the standings. He’s 81 points behind leader Will Power and 30 away from Helio Castroneves. He knows what is mission will be in the 250-lap race around Auto Club Speedway that will end the IndyCar season.

“It’s pretty simple for me, it’s win or nothing,” said the 30-year Frenchman in his third full season in the open-wheel series. “That’s the only way I can win (the title). We’ve done really well this season with this team and now we’re in a really good position. It’s nice to come to the last race with a chance to fight for the championship,

“I can’t control what Will and Helio will do, but I can control what I will do. I’m going in expecting to win, but I do that in every race. There’s no pressure on me.”

He knows about performing with a title on the line. Since he started racing in 2005, he’s won championships in 2006 (Champ Car Atlanics) and 2010 (American Le Mans Series LMP1). In his 51 IndyCar starts, Pagenaud has posted four wins and 24 top-10 finishes, a testimonial to the two-car SPM team that also includes Russian Mikhail Aleshi.

“I’d rather be in Will’s position right now, but it’s OK. I believe you have to be patient. We’ve had a steady progression every year, and we’re back this year fighting for the championship,” he said. “Am I happy with third? No, but we’ll just keep trying.”

And he’s back at his favorite oval track.

“I enjoy Fontana, I enjoy California,” said Pagenaud. “The track has several lanes — you’re not stuck in one, you’re not stuck in traffic. I love that freedom. It’s a different approach.

“It’s an enjoyable race, and at night it’s a benefit for the fans.”

The green flag will drop at 7:20 p.m.

He also enjoys the high speeds at the track.

“I would love to get more horsepower in the cars, more downforce,” he said, “that would stress the driver skills and have a different corner exit.”

Pagenaud, who has driven in six different series in addition to IndyCar, said his favorite racing moment was driving a Peugeot during the 24 Hours of LeMans.

“There was a ton of downforce and we were at speed in the day or night,” Pagenaud said. “You had to adapt and adopt every single course.”

He’s also in agreement the IndyCar winner can be considered the most versatile driver in the world.

“There’s a big diversity,” he said, noting the oval, street and road courses on the 18-race schedule. “You’re not going to see these kinds of speeds in Europe.”

But there’s a bigger challenge in IndyCar in the garage area.

“We’re fighting big-name teams,” Pagenaud, referring to Team Penske, which fields cars for both Power and Castroneves, Target Chip Ganassi Racing and Andretti Motorsports. “I think we have improved a lot, I am satisfied with what we are. I’m very proud of my team at this point.”

Sam Schmidt is also boastful, of his driver.

“Simon is very cerebral in his approach to driving, and his constant inner analysis has pushed the team to improve in many areas,” said the former racer. “He is truly one of a kind, not only on the track but off as well.”

Nonetheless, SPM doesn’t have the resources the other teams possess, but it does have the determination.

“We’ve been competitive, and I’m just going to have to be a little bit more aggressive than usual and try to forge my way forward, and hopefully that will be enough,” said Pagenaud. “At this point, I think we’ve exceeded expectations, and all I’m going to try to do is grab it.

“Is it an advantage? I don’t know. It’s a good‑sized team. It’s a real race team, and communication within the team is really easy because we have less people, so hopefully it can help in a very difficult situation like the last race of the year.”

Lou Brewster is a nationally recognized motorsports journalist who has staffed NASCAR and NHRA events since 1969. Has also staffed high school football, in five different states, since 1967. Has won several national awards in writing and breaking news.